WootBot

We're not scared of a little controversy. And oh, do we know we're facing one today. But don't fall for propaganda from The Cork Popper's League and start thinking that screwcaps are low class. Does drinking the wrong wine turn Downton Abbey into Two And A Half Men? Of course not! Don't judge a wine by the bottle is what we're saying.

-il CesareSole Absolute Triple
Exalted High Tastemaster Supreme
“In the entire world there are only a few sounds that bring joy to all but the most jaded. One is the murmur of a kitten purring. Another is the thwack of a well-pitched baseball hitting a perfectly swung bat. And the third is the pop of a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine.” —George Taber

vinesonthemarycrest

Hello. Victor Abascal owner and winemaker at VOTM here. We close ALL our wines under screw cap! We believe caps preserve wine better than cork. Spoilage is almost nil and wines age more slowly. We are offering '07 'Round Midnight a fruity yet savory GSM based in Syrah which is aging perfectly. Cheers!

tercerowines

I will be the first to say that there is not a 'perfect' closure for wines - period - and I really don't think anyone can object to that.

Wines stored under cork 'can' age for decades and still be wonderful - OR they can be ruined within days of bottling due to a bad cork. And here's the bummer - you wouldn't know it was 'bad due to the cork' until you opened it, whenever that would be . . . and the winery wouldn't know it was bad when they put the cork into it, because you can't look at a cork and know that it's 'good' or not just by sight.

I look at myself as a consumer first and foremost, and as a winemaker second. I want to be able to know that the wines I produce are going to get into your hands and not be adversely affected by variables that I can control - and closures are one of them. Is the screw cap the perfect closure? Again, there is not perfect closure - wines can still 'go bad' under screwcaps due to things like microfissures that can happen when too much pressure if placed on top of the bottle (and I'm talking pallets and pallets of wine here, folks); bottles can get 'nicked' badly and these dents can lead to small holes; etc . . .

I would not and do not hesitate one second purchasing wines under screwcap for both immediate enjoyment and for laying down as long as I'd like to . . . and if I were you, I wouldn't worry either.

Good wine is good wine - regardless of how it is bottled . . . Now a screw cap will not make a bad wine taste better (-: - but lucky for you, these offers are all for GREAT wines at fantastic prices!

I cannot talk more highly of the wines that Victor makes, for example - just beautifully balanced wines that are enjoyable on their own or with food . . .

North316

tercerowines wrote:I will be the first to say that there is not a 'perfect' closure for wines - period - and I really don't think anyone can object to that.

Wines stored under cork 'can' age for decades and still be wonderful - OR they can be ruined within days of bottling due to a bad cork. And here's the bummer - you wouldn't know it was 'bad due to the cork' until you opened it, whenever that would be . . . and the winery wouldn't know it was bad when they put the cork into it, because you can't look at a cork and know that it's 'good' or not just by sight.

I look at myself as a consumer first and foremost, and as a winemaker second. I want to be able to know that the wines I produce are going to get into your hands and not be adversely affected by variables that I can control - and closures are one of them. Is the screw cap the perfect closure? Again, there is not perfect closure - wines can still 'go bad' under screwcaps due to things like microfissures that can happen when too much pressure if placed on top of the bottle (and I'm talking pallets and pallets of wine here, folks); bottles can get 'nicked' badly and these dents can lead to small holes; etc . . .

I would not and do not hesitate one second purchasing wines under screwcap for both immediate enjoyment and for laying down as long as I'd like to . . . and if I were you, I wouldn't worry either.

Good wine is good wine - regardless of how it is bottled . . . Now a screw cap will not make a bad wine taste better (-: - but lucky for you, these offers are all for GREAT wines at fantastic prices!

I cannot talk more highly of the wines that Victor makes, for example - just beautifully balanced wines that are enjoyable on their own or with food . . .

Off the soapbox . . . for now!

Cheers

So how did woot manage to have this sale without including some of your wines? I believe you have been cork-free for a couple years now, right?

markmckenna

I like the comment about being a consumer first and a winemaker second. If you truly care bout your wines screwcap is one of the only ways to go. Corked wines should be a thing of the past. At Lang Wines we want every bottle to be a great experience. That is why we switched to screwcap years ago. We have seen not only an elimination of flawed bottles but they are wearing their age beautifully.

neilfindswine

markmckenna wrote:I like the comment about being a consumer first and a winemaker second. If you truly care bout your wines screwcap is one of the only ways to go. Corked wines should be a thing of the past. At Lang Wines we want every bottle to be a great experience. That is why we switched to screwcap years ago. We have seen not only an elimination of flawed bottles but they are wearing their age beautifully.

Thanks for stopping by Mark! Proper introduction- Mark McKenna is the winemaker for Lang Wines, and he does a fantastic job! He's also the one who introduced me to Bob Lang and suggested we discuss featuring Lang Wines on Woot... And the rest is history!

hiten900

neilfindswine wrote:Thanks for stopping by Mark! Proper introduction- Mark McKenna is the winemaker for Lang Wines, and he does a fantastic job! He's also the one who introduced me to Bob Lang and suggested we discuss featuring Lang Wines on Woot... And the rest is history!

Mark,
I am delighted with Lang wines. You and your team do a very fine job. My wife, who likes good wine, and can be lovingly described as strong and silent, also expressed joy.

I don't much care about the closure, as long as the wine is good. A very large part of the world is screwtops, and such large winery user base must mean that this can't be a bad practice.

langwine

markmckenna wrote:I like the comment about being a consumer first and a winemaker second. If you truly care bout your wines screwcap is one of the only ways to go. Corked wines should be a thing of the past. At Lang Wines we want every bottle to be a great experience. That is why we switched to screwcap years ago. We have seen not only an elimination of flawed bottles but they are wearing their age beautifully.

Thanks, Mark! Failed corks and the taint of 'corked wines' historically make some 5% to 7% of all such bottled wines unpalatable, an unacceptable failure rate that should have made cork closures obsolete a hundred or more years ago. But the ceremony, history and tradition associated with wine 'service' can be as overpowering as the mandates of English history and English society are to the characters and life portrayed in PBS's Downton Abbey. The history of wine goes back 6000-years! The earliest wines were drunk 'fresh' to avoid the inevitability of spoiled wine. The Egyptians used clay amphorae closed with cloth, leather and morter in an attempt to save the wines for future enjoyment. The Greeks floated olive oil on top of their wines to keep air away from the liquid surface. They also began using pine-pitch to seal the amphorae for long trips to distant markets by sea. (Those of us who have tasted Greek 'Retsina' likely understand the adverse qualities of pine tar as a wine closure). Cork has been the closure of choice since the days of the Roman Empire. The one thing that all wine closures throughout history share in common is that their sole purpose is to deliver a better product to the consumer. Witout any doubt what-so-ever, that superior closure today is a screw-cap.

chipgreen

greyday

Thanks for the history lesson, Bob (and for coming on here)! It's a perfect source, as I bought a barbera vertical from Lang last year that had this exact problem--the corks were breaking down on the two corked years, while the screwtop one was fresh and quite good (the bad corks weren't a problem as I drank them and the wine itself, once decanted and away from the vinegar-smelling necks, was totally fine, but had I stored them for a long period of time, probably wouldn't have held up the way a screwtop would).

There's a lot of speculation on the long term aging of screwtops; my personal opinion is that most wines will probably last longer, but take much longer to mature (I have nothing to back this up other than impressions left on me by articles I've read and bottles I've drunk). Short term, however, I've seen a lot of screwtop wines that were "drink now" when I bought them outlast the normal period of time that they really should have. So from what I've gathered (and this enters into my decision making when I'm bottling anything I plan to age [amateur winemaker]), it's really up to personal taste and what you want the wine to do/how long you want it to last.

Note again that that is all opinion. I think it'll be a few years/decades before we really have a firm grasp on rubber/plastic cork, screwtop, zork closures, etc. But either way it says nothing at all in either direction about the quality of the wine, a stigma that every year becomes less and less prevalent (due mostly to more mid and higher end wineries beginning to use alternate capping)...

michugana

langwine wrote:Thanks, Mark! Failed corks and the taint of 'corked wines' historically make some 5% to 7% of all such bottled wines unpalatable, an unacceptable failure rate that should have made cork closures obsolete a hundred or more years ago. But the ceremony, history and tradition associated with wine 'service' can be as overpowering as the mandates of English history and English society are to the characters and life portrayed in PBS's Downton Abbey. The history of wine goes back 6000-years! The earliest wines were drunk 'fresh' to avoid the inevitability of spoiled wine. The Egyptians used clay amphorae closed with cloth, leather and morter in an attempt to save the wines for future enjoyment. The Greeks floated olive oil on top of their wines to keep air away from the liquid surface. They also began using pine-pitch to seal the amphorae for long trips to distant markets by sea. (Those of us who have tasted Greek 'Retsina' likely understand the adverse qualities of pine tar as a wine closure). Cork has been the closure of choice since the days of the Roman Empire. The one thing that all wine closures throughout history share in common is that their sole purpose is to deliver a better product to the consumer. Witout any doubt what-so-ever, that superior closure today is a screw-cap.

-Bob Lang, Lang Wines

What a fantastic post and I look forward to trying out Lang Wines. You should seriously write and article, Bob. I copied this post to my Facebook page (giving you credit of course) so that I can open the eyes of some of my friends. Thank you!

ajrod27

2008 Argento Chardonnay:
I have brief tasting notes from the Hallowoot tasting in October. This wine has a citrus, pineapple, pear and oak profile; more citrus on the nose than on the palate. It's not an oak monster but the oak is definitely there. It does have a fair amount of acidity but not what I would consider 'crisp'.

michugana

markmckenna wrote:I like the comment about being a consumer first and a winemaker second. If you truly care bout your wines screwcap is one of the only ways to go. Corked wines should be a thing of the past. At Lang Wines we want every bottle to be a great experience. That is why we switched to screwcap years ago. We have seen not only an elimination of flawed bottles but they are wearing their age beautifully.

Mark, can you provide the optimal drinking window for the 3 Lang Wines in the offer?

klezman

ajrod27 wrote:2008 Argento Chardonnay:
I have brief tasting notes from the Hallowoot tasting in October. This wine has a citrus, pineapple, pear and oak profile; more citrus on the nose than on the palate. It's not an oak monster but the oak is definitely there. It does have a fair amount of acidity but not what I would consider 'crisp'.

Glad I checked in - I forgot we tried that one! My notes are fairly similar to ajrod's: Initially aromas are primarily oak with a good bit of (surprising) grass. Impression on the palate was subtle oak and smoke with some citrus to round it out. The finish was long, started clean and then turned to smoky toward the end. The final analysis says that this is a somewhat oaky but not overly oaky wine. It's not crisp, as ajrod mentioned, but it's got a nice sense of balance about it if you like that style.

rjquillin

langwine wrote:Thanks, Mark! Failed corks and the taint of 'corked wines' historically make some 5% to 7% of all such bottled wines unpalatable, an unacceptable failure rate that should have made cork closures obsolete a hundred or more years ago. [snip] The one thing that all wine closures throughout history share in common is that their sole purpose is to deliver a better product to the consumer. Witout any doubt what-so-ever, that superior closure today is a screw-cap.

-Bob Lang, Lang Wines

I too am curious how these will age. From what I've read, some do have transfer characteristics similar to cork, without the possible taint. I've got a number of 'good' bottles I'll be interested in tasting some number of years in the future.
Currently have 38 Lang in the cellar, but they are incrementing down. So far, have enjoyed them all.
Thanks for joining in here Bob.

vagabondh

EXCELLENT ARTICLE! As we all sit here in front of computers and text on cellular smart phones, it's about time we recognize that modern methods of closure just might be superior! I was given a variety case of "independent winemakers" wines, most (all?) had screw tops and so far they've all been very good wines.

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